The relative newcomer's introduction at Tuesday's status conference was only one of many significant developments that have taken place in the past 24 hours.

Here are 20 things we now know about the Bulger case that we didn't necessarily know before the hearing:

1. Casper put on the record that she had reviewed the procedural history of the case and concluded she had absolutely no involvement with Bulger or any of his alleged cohorts at any point during her legal career. "I was admitted to the bar in 1994. I did not begin practicing until 1995. I say all of this because I have had nothing to do with the prosecution of this case, a case that was reassigned to me 11 days ago."

2. Regardless of what happens from this point on, Supreme Court Justice David H. Souter's March 14 ruling that public perception and appearance-of-impropriety concerns required Stearns to step aside has become required reading for lawyers. I spoke to a state court judge yesterday who told me the decision has been the talk of the bench for the past few weeks.

3. Contrary to the suggestion of some who predicted that the judicial shuffle would delay jury empanelment, Casper made it clear she intends to get the trial off and running in June, as scheduled.

4. On four of the five work-week days, Casper plans to conduct the trial from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. That likely comes as good news for the lawyers, who will have their afternoons free to focus on prepping for the next day's proceedings. In an effort to keep the case moving along, she intends to have the fifth trial day go until 4 p.m. As has been the case with many of the preliminary matters in Bulger, the parties could not agree on which day of the week that should be. The defense asked that the full day fall on Friday in order to give their elderly client the weekend to recuperate from the longer day. The government argued that it should be a day other than Friday.

5. Assuming the defense does not agree to any sort of stipulations (which seems like a safe bet), prosecutor Brian T. Kelly told the judge he believes the government will call approximately 50 witnesses at trial. The understatement of the day came when Kelly said the cross-examination will be "lengthy" if Bulger testifies, as the defense has said he will.

6. Kelly estimated that the trial would not be put in the hands of the jury until the end of the summer. Defense attorney Carney said that, "to be on the safe side," he believes deliberations will not begin until mid-September.

7. The next order of business for the court will be immunity. Bulger has until April 1 to file papers on why he believes he should be permitted to argue to the jury that he had permission to commit the crimes for which he is under indictment.

8. Based on the arguments made by Carney and Brennan, it should be clear at this point that the defense intends to ask Casper to reconsider many of Stearns' prior rulings.

9. The defense accused Stearns of mischaracterizing its prior arguments on immunity. Contrary to the judge's findings, Brennan told Casper that he and Carney have never identified the agreement between Bulger and the government as one that gave him a "license to kill."

10. After court, Brennan elaborated on why he believes it is essential for the defense to be able to present the issue of immunity to a jury. "A jury needs to hear all the facts and all the evidence of the historical relationships between the government and James Bulger and other organized crime figures to appreciate and understand what the government did in this case."

He said the DOJ has historically made deals with known organized crime figures, including murderers, in an effort to promote their goals. "After achieving their goals, they try to hide their responsibility and their engagements with these individuals.

That is what they are trying to do in this case," Brennan said. "Jay Carney and I will provide evidence and produce witnesses at trial in order to show that James Bulger had immunity from the government, support the reason why he was not charged for over 25 years with even a misdemeanor, and also demonstrate that this was not a unique arrangement with James Bulger.

Rather this is an historical arrangement that dates well before James Bulger — and even occurs today."

11. Casper gave the government until April 8 to file its response to Bulger's immunity claim.

12. Once the parties have had their say in writing, the judge said she will review their filings and then decide whether to rule on the papers or grant the parties a hearing. I bet she marks up the matter for oral arguments.

13. In addition to immunity, the Bulger defense filed a 47-page discovery motion late yesterday that seeks information about a host of cooperators/informants who have had allegedly unseemly relationships with the government. The motion makes for really interesting reading and contains some new revelations about what could come up at trial.

For example: "The defense will prove that the Department of Justice has employed a modus operandi of diversionary tactics, concealment, and selective dissemination of information in misleading ways to cover up the controversial methods they use to pursue their institutional objectives.

The DOJ has consistently used these tactics throughout its history, particularly in their pursuit of La Cosa Nostra ("LCN"). From Joseph Barboza, to Gregory Scarpa, to Mark Rossetti, the DOJ continuously cultivates inappropriate relationships with high ranking members of organized crime, including murderers, to pursue its objectives while simultaneously concealing the true nature of these relationships."

14. On top of that, Carney and Brennan have also filed a motion to disclose the identity of a confidential informant. They argue that the informant is in possession of exculpatory evidence that would allow them to impeach the credibility of a key government witness, Kevin Weeks.

15. The judge plans to swear in 18 jurors (12 sitting and six alternates).

16. Motions in limine must be filed by May 23.

17. Any opposition to those motions are due by May 29.

18. The final pre-trial conference date is now set for June 3.

19. Casper intends to send out a preliminary juror questionnaire, which will try to identify any prospective jurors who might have an extreme hardship that would prevent them from spending the next several months immersing themselves in all things Bulger. She gave the lawyers the opportunity to submit to her proposed questions.

20. With Casper's summer calendar now full, I am told that many of her cases have been assigned to different judges in the building. How's that for judicial teamwork?